Nevada students to benefit from $21 million education grant

More Nevada public school students will be prepared to succeed in college thanks to a $21 million grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Education for the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program (GEAR UP).

The competitive grant was awarded for a seven-year period, which will provide Nevada a total of $21 million from federal sources, and $21 million in cost share resources from state, local and business partners. The funds will be used to advance postsecondary readiness in the state.

“This grant will make a significant impact on the future of thousands of young Nevadans,” said Dan Klaich, chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE). “We’re proud to continue our partnership in this innovative program and look forward to helping more students prepare for, and succeed, in college.”

Nevada’s GEAR UP application is a collaborative effort among NSHE, the Office of the Governor, Office of the State Treasurer, the Nevada Department of Education (NDE) and stakeholders, including parents, students, businesses (Wells Fargo Nevada, AT&T, ACT, College Board, Nevada Public Education Foundation and Texas Instruments) as well as agency representatives. NDE, as lead agency and fiscal agent, will direct the project implementation with its partners.

This is Nevada’s third GEAR UP competitive award aimed at college and career readiness.

The purpose of the grant is twofold: (1) to change the culture of schools located in economically disadvantaged communities to ensure that all students are prepared academically and have resources to attend and succeed in college; and (2) to increase NSHE institution involvement in GEAR UP schools to facilitate a seamless transition from secondary to postsecondary attendance and success.

NSHE will partner with K-12 schools to provide additional outreach and access ambassadors for students and families, as well as evaluation of the GEAR UP schools and students to measure academic, college and career readiness among the participants.

NSHE faculty will also provide professional development and coaching to middle schools to assist in successful implemenation of the common core state standards as well as science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects.

Nevada State GEAR UP will operate in 19 middle schools, serving 5,480 students. The target schools are in nine of the 17 county school districts throughout the state. The participating counties were selected based on the economic need in the specific schools. The following counties have schools that have been selected for participation in the grant: Clark, Elko, Esmeralda, Humboldt, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Pershing and Washoe.